1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a proximity fuse-mounted guided missile, for example, an air missile such as an SAM (surface-to-air missile) and AAM (air-to-air missile), and to a system for controlling the radiation direction of a beam (light wave or electromagnetic wave).
2. Description of the Related Art
Usually, the air missile is equipped with a proximity fuse and designed to radiate a beam (light wave or electromagnetic wave) from the proximity fuse antennas, detect a target from an echo and detonate a missile warhead and hence destroy the target. The effective beam range is set in an effective radius of the missile warhead.
Generally, the antenna of the missile's proximity fuse radiates a target detection beam B from just beside the missile M as shown in FIG. 1A. Here, even when the target T enters within an effective range of the beam B, the proximity fuse involves a time delay until it is detonated. In the case of the target T being an airplane, the target is larger than the missile M and relatively slower in speed and, as shown in FIG. 1B, the detonation timing of the missile warhead is not appreciably important, taking its delay into consideration, and the target can be destroyed.
In the case of the target T being a high-speed missile and hence being smaller in size and greater in flight speed, even if the target T enters within a detection beam B of the proximity fuse antenna in the case where the target detection beam B is radiated from alongside the fuselage, the target T passes the effective range of the missile before the detonation of the proximal fuse, thus failing to destroy the target T.
In the prior art, it may be considered that, through the forward tilting of the beam B as shown in FIG. 3A, proper timing is taken from the detection of the target T until the explosion of it so that the target T can be destroyed. According to this system, no proper detonation timing is taken as shown in FIG. 3D for the case of the target being a low-speed missile (small in size and small in flight speed), so that the target cannot be destroyed.
In the air missile designed to destroy an opponent missile as the target, the most effective method is by considering the beam's forward tilt angle in accordance with the speed of the target. Taking the mount space of the proximity fuse into consideration it is very difficult to freely vary the beam's forward tilt angle from a practical point of hardware.